5 Best Practices for Using Social Media

Branding is an ongoing definition and discovery of what your business model, mission, objectives and communication methods. It is more than just a fancy company logo and slogan. Branding is a combination of experiences and trials that define what your company is and what it does.


Nowadays, technology and Social Media dominate how companies market, brand and communicate with their customers. The concept of Social Media is relatively new and there are a lot of companies out there that are yet to explore this extremely useful and invaluable resource to brand your business and create loyal customer base.

Here are 5 proven Best Practices for your preferred method of Social Media that have already been explored by established and successful companies:

1. Avoid Impersonal and Indirect Communication. Blasting news and links that are filled with indirect content can drive your followers away. Keep communication personal and relevant to your brand. Occasionally, include links to interesting and applicable articles that your readers will be interested in reading.

2. Establish Structure and Timing Techniques. Establishing and maintaining certain structure and timing techniques of your Social Media communication will ensure that your customers are aware of the “what and when” to expect communication from you. For example, send an update through Social Media regarding certain feature of your brand at a specific time of the day and day of the week consistently to establish a pattern. Customers will be sure notice that pattern and check back during those times to catch up with your updates. Don’t overcomplicate or overdo this, because then you will appear disingenuous and inhuman.

3. Engage Customers and Promote Communication. Post information that the customers can relate and respond to. Encourage customers to comment and respond to your communication by posting polls, surveys and promotions that would give the customer an incentive to engage in two-way communication with your company.

4. Don’t just participate in your own pages. Yes, updating content and constant posts to your own domain is an effective strategy, but you need to expand your presence in Social Media. Find and contribute to relevant pages on Social Media pages to share your expertise and establish presence on others’ pages, which would eventually link back to your own site.

5. Content is King. Regardless of how many “Likes” or “Followers” you may have, content is what attracts and retains your customers. Ensure that you produce consistent and quality posts and updates, which would eventually lead to more “likes” and “retweets” that lead to more connections.

Whatever your preferred method of Social Media communication is, whether it is Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, StumbleUpon, Digg, Blogger, Tumblr, etc, following these best practices will prepare your company to improve your customer experience and engagement, and prevent “unfollows” and “unlikes.” Refer to these useful tactics often and make best effort to apply these in your everyday tasks.